This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Many pick-up trucks include a passenger cabin configured to provide a row of rear seats located behind a row of front seats to accommodate additional passengers. These pick-up trucks having such an extended passenger cabin typically include a front door to provide access to the front seats and a rear door to provide access to the rear seats. The rear door, commonly referred to as a rear access door, also provides convenient access to the space behind the front seats during loading and unloading of items. In some pick-up trucks, the front and rear doors are mounted side-by-side and both open by pivoting away from each other (i.e., the hinges are on the sides opposite from the opposed doors, an arrangement sometimes referred to as a “clamshell” design). This arrangement is typically configured where the front door pivots forward and the smaller rear access door pivots backwards, with no B-pillar provided in the vehicle body between the two doors.
Typically, such two door extended cab arrangements require a gap between the two doors in order to allow them to swing between their open and closed positions without hitting each other. This gap, however, needs to be sealed to prevent water and noise from entering the vehicle while the doors are closed, particularly since there is no B-pillar structure to seal each door against. In other two door extended cab arrangements, the front door overlaps the rear door to provide a more traditional sealing arrangement. However, the front door must be opened prior to release of the rear door to avoid movement interference therebetween. In addition, to these sealing requirements, each door must be latched with respect to the vehicle body in the closed position, with conventional mechanical and power-operated latches commonly used for such two-door arrangements.
Thus, a need exists to develop alternative latching and sealing arrangements for such two-door closure systems that advance the art and provide enhanced convenience to the vehicle passengers.